Warp knitted textile spacer fabric, method of producing same, and products produced therefrom

A warp knitted textile spacer fabric of the double needle bar Raschel pile type having characteristics of stretchability, compressibility and resiliency simulative of resilient plastic foam materials and having characteristics of air and moisture permeability substantially enhanced over said foam materials, said spacer fabric comprising front and back stretchable fabric substructures and a pile substructure integrated with and extending between the front and back fabric substructures for maintaining the front and back fabric substructures in spaced parallel relation and being resiliently yieldable for compressibility of the front and back fabric substructures together and subsequent recovery thereof to spaced parallel relation, said spacer fabric being of an at least seven-bar ward knitted Raschel construction wherein each said fabric substructure comprises at least a set of ground yarns and a set of stretchable yarns interknitted with one another in a stretchable resilient stitch construction and said pile substructure comprises at least two sets of monofilament pile yarns interknitted with each said fabric substructure in a stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures in differing angular orientations relative thereto for permitting resilient compressibility of said fabric substructures while resisting relative shear movement of said fabric substructures in directions parallel thereto and a third set of monofilament pile yarns interknitted with each said fabric substructure in a chain stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures.

A warp knitted textile spacer fabric of the double needle bar Raschel pile type having characteristics of stretchability, compressibility and resiliency simulative of resilient plastic foam materials and having characteristics of air and moisture permeability substantially enhanced over said foam materials, said spacer fabric comprising front and back stretchable fabric substructures and a pile substructure integrated with and extending between the front and back fabric substructures for maintaining the front and back fabric substructures in spaced parallel relation and being resiliently yieldable for compressibility of the front and back fabric substructures together and subsequent recovery thereof to spaced parallel relation, said spacer fabric being of an at least six-bar warp knitted Raschel construction wherein each said fabric substructure comprises at least a set of ground yarns and a set of stretchable yarns interknitted with one another in a stretchable resilient stitch construction having needle loops of said ground and stretchable yarns arranged in longitudinal wales and transverse courses and said pile substructure comprises at least two sets of monofilament pile yarns interknitted with each said fabric substructure in a stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures in differing angular orientations relative thereto for permitting resilient compressibility of said fabric substructures while resisting relative shear movement of said fabric substructures in directions parallel thereto, said pile segments of said two sets of pile yarns cooperating to act as a pyramidal system of triangularly related trusses for supporting and maintaining said front and back fabric substructures in compressible spaced parallel relation and for resisting relative shear movement thereof in response to forces exerted in directions generally parallel to said fabric substructures, each said triangularly related truss comprising four pile segments including a pair of pile segments of each of said two sets of pile yarns, said four pile segments extending from four respective spaced-apart needle loops formed in one of said front and back fabric substructures and converging together in four respective plated needle loops of said pile yarns formed in a common course and wale of the other of said front and back fabric substructures.

A process for producing a warp knitted spacer fabric of the double needle bar Raschel pile type having characteristics of stretchability, compressibility and resiliency simulative of resilient plastic foam materials and having characteristics of air and moisture permeability substantially enhanced over said foam materials, said process comprising the steps of warp knitting on a double needle bar Raschel knitting machine having at least six yarn guide bars an at least six bar spacer fabric comprising front and back stretchable fabric substructures and a pile substructure integrated with and extending between the front and back fabric substructures for maintaining the front and back fabric substructures in spaced parallel relation and being resiliently yieldable for compressibility of the front and back fabric substructures together and subsequent recovery thereof to spaced parallel relation, said knitting steps comprising forming each said fabric substructure by interknitting at least a set of ground yarns and a set of stretchable yarns with one another in a stretchable resilient stitch construction having needle loops of said ground and stretchable yarns arranged in longitudinal wales and transverse courses and forming said pile substructure by interknitting at least two sets of monofilament pile yarns with each said fabric substructure in a stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures in differing angular orientations relative thereto for permitting resilient compressibility of said fabric substructures while resisting relative shear movement of said fabric substructures in directions parallel thereto and forming each pile yarn of at least one of said two sets of pile yarns in successive needle loops which alternate every course between non-corresponding wales of said front and back fabric substructures including alternating needle loops arranged alternatingly in spaced wales of successive courses of one of said front and back fabric substructures and intervening needle loops arranged in a common wale of successive courses of the other of said front and back fabric substructures.

A process for producing a warp knitted spacer fabric of the double needle bar Raschel pile type having characteristics of stretchability, compressibility and resiliency simulative of resilient plastic foam materials and having characteristics of air and moisture permeability substantially enhanced over said foam materials, said process comprising the steps of warp knitting on a double needle bar Raschel knitting machine having at least seven yarn guide bars an at least seven bar spacer fabric comprising front and back stretchable fabric substructures and a pile substructure integrated with an extending between the front and back fabric substructures for maintaining the front and back fabric substructures in spaced parallel relation and being resiliently yieldable for compressibility of the front and back fabric substructures together and subsequent recovery thereof to spaced parallel relation, said knitting steps comprising forming each said fabric substructure by interknitting at least a set of ground yarns and a set of stretchable yarns with one another in a stretchable resilient stitch construction and forming said pile substructure by interknitting at least two sets of monofilament pile yarns with each said fabric substructure in a stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures in differing angular orientations relative thereto for permitting resilient compressibility of said fabric substructures while resisting relative shear movement of said fabric substructures in directions parallel thereto and knitting a third set of monofilament pile yarns with each said fabric substructure in a chain stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures.

A process for producing a warp knitted spacer fabric of the double needle bar Raschel pile type having characteristics of stretchability, compressibility and resiliency simulative of resilient plastic foam materials and having characteristics of air and moisture permeability substantially enhanced over said foam materials, said process comprising the steps of warp knitting on a double needle bar Raschel knitting machine having at least six yarn guide bars an at least six bar spacer fabric comprising front and back stretchable fabric substructures and a pile substructure integrated with and extending between the front and back fabric substructures for maintaining the front and back fabric substructures in spaced parallel relation and being resiliently yieldable for compressibility of the front and back fabric substructures together and subsequent recovery thereof to spaced parallel relation, said knitting steps comprising forming each said fabric substructure by interknitting at least a set of ground yarns and a set of stretchable yarns with one another in a stretchable resilient stitch construction having needle loops of said ground and stretchable yarns arranged in longitudinal wales and transverse courses and forming said pile substructure by interknitting at least two sets of monofilament pile yarns with each said fabric substructure in a stitch construction forming pile segments which extend transversely between said fabric substructures in differing angular orientations relative thereto for permitting resilient compressibility of said fabric substructures while resisting relative shear movement of said fabric substructures in directions parallel thereto, said interknitting said pile yarns comprising forming said pile segments of said two sets of pile yarns to act cooperatively as a pyramidal system of triangularly related trusses for supporting and maintaining said front and back fabric substructures in compressible spaced parallel relation and for resisting relative shear movement thereof in response to forces exerted in directions generally parallel to said fabric substructures by forming each said triangularly related truss to comprise four pile segments including a pair of pile segments of each of said two sets of pile yarns, said four pile segments extending from four respective spaced-apart needle loops formed in one of said front and back fabric substructures and converging together in four respective plated needle loops of said pile yarns formed in a common course and wale of the other of said front and back fabric substructures.